Learning the hard way

Learning the hard way refers to learning by making mistakes through trial and error.[1] The idiomatic expression refers to learning from bad, difficult or unpleasant experiences.[2]

Example:

"The Saturday Evening Post said charitably that perhaps every President had to learn the hard way. (Truman might have added that that was about the only way he had ever learned anything in his life.)" -- David McCullough, Truman.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ammer, Christine. (1997). The American Heritage dictionary of idioms. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-395-72774-4 p. 284.
  2. ↑ Olson, Elaine. (2005). Stedman's Guide to Idioms: Know the Lingo. Baltimore, Maryland: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-0-7817-5746-1; OCLC 57123885 p. 66.
  3. ↑ McCullough, David. (2003). Truman. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-6029-9. p. 589.
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